Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Gigglepants
I was at the game, I'm aware of their ranking at the time and the implications of the loss. I'm saying we lost to OU in the regular season in 2007. If that happens now, with no title game, what are the chances we are ranked #1, are in a position to win a Big XII title and go to the NC game? How do you win a 9 or 10 team league with a conference loss? If all the stars do align and you win the Big XII "title" with a conference loss, what are the odds you're #1 in the country and get a NC game bid?
|
The chances are pretty slim that a one-loss Big 12-whatever team would rise back to No. 1 in the rankings, but it is possible.
Recipe:
The one loss must come in the first half of the season
Must be fairly highly rated at the time of the loss
The loss must be to a team/in a fashion that doesn't crush your rankings
There must be no more than one undefeated team in the country
If the undefeated team isn't from the SEC, all SEC teams must have at least two losses
Teams ahead of you after the loss will have to lose
Basically, exactly what happened in 2007. Missouri fell from 11 to 14 or so after the loss in Norman. Then Oklahoma lost once more, to give the Sooners two regular season losses. And everyone in front of Mizzou lost at least once before the end of the regular season.
LSU lost twice, and the SEC had no other team in that range.
I mean, in 2007, substitute Missouri's win vs. Texas A&M for a win versus Texas and the win against Colorado for a win against oSu. At the end of the season, Missouri would have been 11-1, having just defeated the number 2 team in the country the same week that No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 all lost (remember: West Virginia and Ohio State both choked in the closing weeks).
They would have been a shoe-in to the title game at that point. Only the loss to OU knocked 'em out.